


When, Where And How?

by Sabene4511



Series: So Many Revelations [11]
Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: But I make it easy to skip, Established Relationship, M/M, Series, There is smut in Ch 2, Vampire AU -sort of, some language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-16 07:28:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28578246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sabene4511/pseuds/Sabene4511
Summary: For the sake of timeline, this story picks up only hours after Greater Good ends...March of 2020.This series was planned before Season 4 aired, so Mac and Desi were never a thing, Russ and Codex don't exist, Phoenix never shut down, and this is a Covid-free story.
Relationships: Jack Dalton/Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016)
Series: So Many Revelations [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1380847
Kudos: 17





	1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

\-----------------------------------------------------------

Matty, Riley, Bozer, Leanna and Desi are already waiting when Mac and Jack walk into the War Room. Even Mac’s dad is there, though they didn’t call him.

“Finally! You two want to tell us what’s so important we all had to turn around and come right back in the moment we got home?” Matty is clearly annoyed.

Jack puts his hands up, surrendering. “Don’t look at me, boss. This is Mac’s show. He wouldn’t tell me the big idea either.”

Mac cuts right to chase. “Dernova called me.”

Shock and anger ripple around the room and Riley immediately pulls out her rig, powering it up.

“Don’t bother Riley. She’s in Greece, but that’s not the point right now.”

“Wait.” James looks shocked. “You know where she is?”

“I _always_ know where she is. Right now she’s in western Greece, maybe southern Albania, and she’s been there for several months. But I can’t be much more accurate than that without getting closer, and if I get too close, she’ll leave. But I think I know a way to get her.”

Riley looks skeptical. “You’re talking about the Jedi thing.”

Mac rolls his eyes and looks at Jack.

“Don’t look at me like that, hoss. It was the easiest way to explain it! You gotta admit, being able to ‘sense her presence’ is right outta Star Wars.”

Mac sighs and looks back at Riley. “Fine, yes, the Jedi thing. I can sense her and Jack, so I _think_ I might be able to lead him to her. But I’ll need to test how close I can get before she gets antsy and takes off, and I’ll need to see how accurate I can get at whatever that distance is.”

“Hold on,” Leanna says, ‘I thought she could sense Jack, too, ever since she attacked him. Wouldn’t she move if _he_ got too close?”

“Not any more. She thinks he’s dead.”

“Why?” Bozer looks as confused as Leanna.

“Because I killed him, Boze.” Mac answers with a small shudder. “When I infected him. And her bond with him stayed broken.”

The atmosphere in the room changes, lights clicking on in everyone's heads at once.

“There’s a down side.” Adds Mac.

“Of course there is.” Matty rolls her eyes. “What is it?”

“Jack and I will have to be out of the field while we test it. Until we’re ready to give this a try, she can’t find out he’s alive or we lose the element of surprise. We’ll have to put an obituary in the paper, she’ll be looking for it. We can warn his family so they know, but Dernova has friends here. He _can’t_ be seen.”

“How do you know she has friends here?” Desi asks.

“She sent at least two people to my memorial when everyone thought I was dead. She showed me the video. It’s possible they cut ties with her when she was caught, but we can’t count on it.”

“I forgot about that.” Bozer says with an exaggerated shudder. “That’s so creepy.”

“We’ll also have to wait for the virus to fully permeate Jack’s system. I don’t want him going up against her until it has.”

“I can take her as long as she doesn’t have me drugged and tied up first.” Jack says annoyed.

“Jack,” Mac says delicately. “You...you can’t take me. She would be no different.”

Jack huffs, frustrated, and turns away pacing.

“Just wait until you have the same advantages that she does and she won’t stand a chance.”

Jack turns back. “So we just sit here for a month?”

“I don’t like it any more than you do, but it’s the safest way. Besides, we still need time to test my theory. I just have to figure out how. We may just have to wing it on the day.”

Jack chuckles softly. “Wing it? But we’ve never done that before.” Mac laughs with him. “We’ll figure it out. It could work though.”

Even James laughs quietly before adding, “It would actually be pretty easy to test the bond between you and Jack. Just play hide and seek.”

“Yeah, that’s the easy part, but testing how accurately I can guide him to someone else I’m bonded to? That’s the part I’m not sure how to do.”

“Use me.” Desi says.

Mac smiles. “I’m not bonded to you Des.”  
  
“So, we fix that.”

The whole room goes still.

“What?” Desi says, looking around. “It’s not a big deal. Besides, in this line of work having an ally who’ll always be able to find you? That’s a _good_ thing and a whole lot safer than a tracking chip. Those can be hacked.”

“Do you understand how that bond is formed, Desi?” Matty says gently.

“Yeah, Mac has to drink from me. So? Jack managed it alone in the field. We can manage it far more safely here. We can even do it in medical. Dr. Lewis can be ready and waiting with a blood transfusion for me in case he takes too much before _everyone_ can pull him away.” She pauses as a thought comes to her. “Huh. Even better? We could put Mac on a bed in full restraints and she can give him a sedative right before we start so it’s even easier. It’ll be fine.”

“She’s got a point, Mac.” Jack says with a quirk of his eyebrow.

Mac shakes his head. “You realize this isn’t a temporary thing, right Des? I’ll be able to find you for the rest of your life. It’s a huge invasion of privacy.”

Desi smirks. “You gonna stalk me?”

Mac looks affronted at the suggestion. “Of course not.”

She laughs. “Then who cares? I mean, if you use it to track me down when you know I want to be alone, that’s a different conversation. That’s about your actions. But the simple fact that you _can_? I really don’t care.”

Mac laughs silently, shaking his head. “This is so surreal.”

Jack puts a hand on his shoulder. “What do you mean, darlin’?”

“Less than a year ago, _very_ few people even knew about me having this disease, or that it even _existed_. Now we’re all standing around, flippantly talking about feeding me someone’s blood like it’s just another day. It’s...nice? Yet very, very strange.”

“You know what I’m still curious about?” Riley says narrowing her eyes at Mac. “I think I understand the whole _sensing her presence_ thing -at least as well as anyone can. But that doesn’t explain how you knew Jack was in trouble when Dernova had him.”

“Actually I think it does.” Replies Mac. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot, trying to figure it out. And I think I’ve got it.”

Mac takes a deep breath. “When I was little, 4 years old, I tried to explain the bond to people. No one believed me. Not the CDC researchers, not my parents,” he says with a wave towards his father. “And I can’t really blame them. I mean I was barely more than a toddler, trying to put a strange feeling into _words_. It sounds unbelievable even coming from an adult, nevermind a 4 year old. I tried again as a teenager, but the CDC still didn’t buy it, neither did my grandfather. So, I stopped trying to convince people. Quite the opposite actually.

“I’d heard the whispers, so I knew the person I was sensing was probably the woman who attacked me. As long as she wasn’t anywhere near me, I didn’t care. I made a conscious effort to ignore the pull her existence caused. I got _very_ good at it. Even after she held me hostage, I still only cared to know that she wasn’t close -except the one time Des and I tried to go after her.”

Mac pauses and looks down with a sigh. “When Jack went after Kovacs, I was completely focused on keeping track of _him_. In case they needed backup, and managed to get out a distress call, but not a location. Or if I just couldn’t take it anymore and went after him without authorization. It was comforting to me: knowing where he was, that he was at least alive if nothing else. I was still deliberately ignoring her, but I think my subconscious realized that she was waaaaay too close to him. That’s why I was so nervous and distracted. If I’d been paying more attention…”

“No. Don’t do that, hoss. It wasn’t your fault.”

“I might have been able to warn you.”  
  
“No. You couldn’t have. We’d gone dark, been dark for more than a week at that point. The only reason the team broke radio silence is _because_ I disappeared. Even if you’d realized what was happening and told someone, they wouldn’t have been able to contact us to deliver the warning until it was already too late. There’s nothing you could have done to prevent it, man. Don’t do that to yourself.”

Mac nods sadly and turns back to Riley. “Anyway, I _think_ that’s how I knew. It makes sense at least.”

Everyone nods. Desi starts looking around curiously. “Sooooo, are we turning me into an appetizer or what?”

“Wait, right now?” Mac looks terrified.

“Why not?”

Matty puts both her hands up for silence. “Let’s not jump the gun, Desi. We need to see if Dr. Lewis will even agree. Besides, if we end up doing this, the CDC will probably want to be involved. They can’t _force_ human experimentation, but if you’re both volunteering and planning on doing it anyway, they’ll want to observe and have safety protocols in place. Mac isn’t due for another blood dose for a couple days anyway. So, we have some time to plan and get everything set up as safely as possible.”

Mac breathes a sigh of relief.

“Matty, you know the more time Mac has to think about it, the more horrifying what-if scenarios he’s going to imagine. Waiting will only make it worse.”

“Hey!” Mac says indignantly. “I’m right here!”

She turns to glare at him. “The trick is not to think about it, Mac. And you know it.”

James is the one who interjects. “And what if he thinks of something we haven’t yet? An _actual_ reason why it’s a bad idea? This is serious, Desi. You really could die doing this.” Mac sees shadows cross his father’s eyes and knows exactly what’s going through his head, because he’s thinking of his mom, too. “Angus is right, we’re being rather flippant about this. What Dalton did was reckless, but at least he _only_ did it because Angus’ life was on the line, not just to test a theory. The theory is sound and I’m pretty sure it’ll work. I don’t like the idea of putting you at risk for so small a reason.”

Jack rolls his eyes. “I can’t believe I’m sayin’ this, but...I agree with Oversight. It’s too risky, Des. Not for this. We’ll figure something else out, or we’ll wing it. And we won’t completely rely on it working, either. Mac can get as close a location as possible, then we put Riley to work to pinpoint it. We work _together_.”

“That’s settled then.” James says. “Now can we go back to the phone call for a minute? What exactly did she say?”

“She wanted to express her condolences. She was just trying to mess with my head again, dad.”

“That’s it?”

“She just didn’t realize how much she was actually giving away.”

Jack smiles softly at Mac. “Thanks, man. But…” He turns to look at Oversight. “That’s not all she told him.”

Mac nods. “I wasn’t sure you wanted to say anything about that yet. I wasn’t going to bring it up for you.”

Jack fist bumps Mac’s arm in thanks. “She also told him that she’s very, very pregnant. As in due to deliver in the next few weeks.” He notices Bozer doing the math in his head. “The timing would be right, Boze.”

Riley bites her lip. “Are you okay, Jack?”

“Honestly, honey? I don’t really know how I feel about it. Partly because we don’t know if it’s even true.”

“She sent me an ultrasound image after I hung up.” Mac adds. “But a quick google search would give her hundreds to choose from. It could just be another attempt to mess with our heads. And as I told Jack, even _if_ she’s pregnant, that doesn’t mean the baby is his.”

Bozer jumps on it. “That’s true! She could have slept with a whole bunch of guys to increase her chances.”

“Hell, I don’t know if I can even _have_ kids. I did a whole ton of stupid shit in my life. And when you’re doing somethin’ stupid, you ain’t usually smart about it, if you catch my drift. Yet never once in my whole life did any of those women find me later and say ‘Hey Jack, remember that night? Well...guess what?’”

“If it’ll make you feel better, you can always have medical test you.” Matty says softly.

“I know. I’m just not sure if I really _want_ to know, you know?”

Mac’s face tips Bozer off that there’s something wrong. “What is it, Mac?”

Mac looks at him, then quickly to Jack. “If you want to have a test done, it needs to be now. It may already be too late to know for sure.”

Jack looks at him, confusion clear. “What do you mean ‘too late’. Why?”

Mac smiles tenderly. “The virus, Jack. You were infected about 24 hours ago, so the virus _might_ not have gotten that far yet. But if there _was_ some reason you couldn’t have children last June, it’s possible the virus may have already started correcting it. The longer you wait, the more likely it is that a test will show that you’re fine.”

Jacks sighs through puffed cheeks. “Okay, then I’m goin’ down as soon as we’re done talking here.”

“Okay.” Desi closes her eyes. “So, aside from Jack’s fertility...” She says with a shake of her head like she _really_ doesn’t want to think about it. “...we’ve had a nice long conversation about things we are _not_ doing. So...what _are_ we doing?”

Mac sighs. “Jack needs to go underground until the virus permeates his system. We need to write an obituary. And I need to do a bunch of flying around Europe to see how close I can get to her before she bounces. Though I should wait a week or two first. If I immediately go back to work after Jack supposedly dies, she’ll get suspicious.”

“Do we need to have a memorial like we did for you before?” Riley asks. “Wouldn’t she be expecting that, too?”

“I don’t think so. She only sent friends to mine because she wanted to show me that no one was coming for me. She was trying to make me give up, break me. We can include in the obituary ‘ _per Jack’s wishes, there will be no service’_ . No sense in wasting the money on a fake service if we don’t have to. Not to mention all the acting that _everybody_ would have to do.”

“I agree.” Says Matty. “We keep it simple. I’ll write the obit and get it in the paper, we’ll say it was a car accident. Jack, you make sure to call your mother, your sister and anyone else that might freak out when they see it. Just tell them you can’t give much info, but you’re trying to draw someone out of hiding regarding your last deployment.”

“Easy enough. Where am I goin’? I assume I can’t go home or to Mac’s place if people might be watching.”

James steps in. “Again, we keep it simple. You stay here. There are a couple of small studio apartments on the fifth floor that haven’t been used in _ages_. I’ll have housekeeping deep clean one for you.”

“Why do we have apartments upstairs?” Mac asks.

“Safe houses, primarily. For agents whose home addresses have been compromised somehow. Or for operatives on loan from other agencies or countries. I even lived in one after… Anyway, that way Jack can still be here to help with planning and with missions from here in the War Room. It gives him access to medical for his blood doses, the gym, the shooting range, the cafeteria. All without leaving Phoenix’s grounds. You can do whatever light shopping needs to be done and bring it for him when you come in. It’ll also keep _you_ from suddenly going to a new place all the time, which would make her suspicious.”

Jack nods. “Works for me. Though I’m guessin’ I’m gonna get sick of these walls pretty quick.”

“It’s only for a month, babe. You’ll manage.” He steps closer and gives Jack a soft kiss of support. Out of the corner of his eye, Mac sees his dad flinch slightly, turning away. _Too bad. He’ll have to get used to it. Or not._

“Can anyone think of anything we haven’t thought of? Other options, ideas?” Mac asks looking around to each of his friends in turn. No one says anything. “Ok well, keep thinking on it. No matter how crazy the idea, we can talk it through. You never know, there may be at least part of it we can use. Desi...I can’t even really explain how much it means to me that you're willing to help the way you are, and we’ll keep it in mind if we decide later that there’s no other way.”

He takes Jack’s hand, pulling him towards the door. “Come on, let’s go get that test over with.”

\----------------------------------------------------


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second half of this chapter is smut. If that's not your thing, simply stop at the line of XOXOXOXOXO and skip to the next chapter. You won't miss anything important.

**Chapter 2**

\------------------------------------------

It’s been three weeks since Dernova’s call. Three weeks since Jack was infected. Three weeks since Mac’s head started spiraling. So far, he’s kept it from Jack, but he knows it won’t last.

Jack may have a daughter out there.

He knows it’s not  _ how  _ Jack wanted it to happen, but he knows he did  _ want  _ it to happen...somehow, someday. Jack has always wanted kids, lots of them. The special forces life he chose just didn’t meld with that. Jack is trying to play it cool, but still...Mac knows. It’s little things. Like the far off look he got when the last movie they watched included a man with his toddler. Or his relieved reaction when his test results showed that his fertility is fine, and Dr. Lewis said that the virus would likely not have gotten that far in fixing Jack at the time of the test.

Jack thinks he might have a daughter out there, too. And he’s happy. He’s not thrilled about who the mother is and how the whole thing went down. And he’s still not sure if he’s the father, or if there’s even a baby to be the father of.

But he’s happy there’s at least a chance.

Mac isn’t sure how he feels. Happy for Jack, yes. But conflicted...and jealous, which surprises him. There is  _ nothing  _ to be jealous of. Jack was  _ raped _ for crying out loud. He’s been in that position and it’s hardly envious.

Still.

Jack may have a daughter now...and he doesn’t. But why should that bother him? Mac’s never really thought seriously about having kids, only in the abstract. Both being male, he knows he and Jack can’t have a child  _ together _ . But he thought maybe someday, if they decided to, they’d adopt a few of the thousands of kids who need good homes. He’s being selfish, he knows that. Is it because he didn’t have any say in the decision? Then again, neither did Jack..so why?

And more than the jealousy. There’s fear, too. He’s terrified. He  _ really _ doesn’t want Jack to have a child with  _ her _ of all people. If they manage to catch Dernova and if she does have a daughter and if Jack is the father, Jack will want to raise her. Mac knows that’s a lot of ‘ifs’, but...it’s all very possible. If she looks too much like her mother, how will Mac react to her? He knows how his father treated him because he looks so much like  _ his _ mother. Would Mac be the same? Or would there be enough of Jack in her features that he’d be able to love her too? He knows if he can’t, it would tear him and Jack apart. He’d lose him.

Hence the mental spiral. He knows he needs to talk to Jack about it. He just doesn’t know how, and he’s running out of time to figure it out. Part of him is  _ really _ hoping Dernova was lying about the whole thing and he won’t even have to worry about it. Right now, he has other things to focus on.

He enters the War Room to find Matty waiting for him.

“So, what’s the verdict?”

“I think it’s going to work. She’s the northern end of Plataria, Greece. I was able to fly into Tirana, Albania without her moving. It’s a little over 100 miles. I drove south for about 30 minutes before she moved. I stopped in the next town I came to and just stayed put, had dinner. Talked to a lovely local couple who spoke a little English...”

“Is this relevant?”

“Not really.”   
  
“Then skip it, blondie.”

“Right, sorry. She went back home when I hadn’t gotten any closer for about 2 hours. I stayed over-night and caused a  _ little _ bit of mayhem in the morning to sell the illusion of me being there on some kind of op, but nothing you have to worry about.” He smiles at the grumpy look on her face. “I promise. There was no property damage and no one hurt. Just a bit of confusion, but it was enough that folks should remember in case she asks around. Then I drove straight back to Tirana and left.”

“All right. How small an area were you able to narrow it down to?”

“About a 200-300 foot radius. Looking at a map it narrows it down to less than a dozen houses. That may help Riley pinpoint the house. If there’s no paper trail for her, maybe we could borrow a couple operatives from another agency to do some on-the-ground recon? Dernova may know some of our people and we don’t know which ones.”

“I’ll work on it. Nice job, Mac. Hopefully this will be over soon and she’ll be behind bars...well, bullet proof glass at a black site. Same thing.” She smiles and nods at the door. “Now go take a shower. Whatever the hell you did in Albania? You stink.”

He just laughs and gets up to leave. “Oh, I did some looking during the flight back. There’s a big tech conference in Tirana in about two weeks. It would be the perfect excuse for me to go back. But only if we have a location in time.”

“Good.”

He nods and heads for the locker room. Halfway there, he turns instead for the stairs leading up to Jack’s apartment. Jack is on the shooting range, and he won’t mind Mac using his shower. Not that Mac’s all that shy, but he prefers the privacy if it’s available.

He scrubs himself down, feeling the grime and sweat wash away with the suds from his hair. The hot water feels amazing and he simply stands there for a minute when he’s done, letting it relax his muscles. But now that his conversation with Matty is over and he’s alone, his thoughts start swirling again. He must be standing there longer than he realizes because he’s startled by familiar arms wrapping around him from behind. He jumps at the initial touch, having not even heard Jack come into the apartment, much less into the bathroom.

“You fall asleep, darlin’?”

He chuckles at himself, leaning back into the strong form behind him. “I guess so.”

Jack brushes his lips up Mac’s neck from his shoulder, placing a soft kiss just under his ear. “You ever gonna tell me what’s eatin’ at you?”

Mac sighs. “Yeah, later.”

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

He turns in the embrace and kisses Jack, softly at first then deepening quickly. Jack’s rough hands slide around his waist and up his back, pulling him close. Both already half hard, they break the kiss to groan as their cocks rub together. He turns Jack, backing him up against the wall. Leaning in, he grinds their hips together, sending electricity up both their spines.

He captures Jack’s mouth again, devouring the taste of him when Jack pushes his tongue into his mouth. He continues grinding into him for a minute, then abruptly stops, pulls his mouth free from Jack, drops to his knees and quickly takes Jack’s cock into his mouth. The starling change of sensation has Jack moaning loudly. “Hooooly shit, Mac.”

Mac doesn’t tease him. Bobbing his head quickly, pulling hard, it doesn’t take long before Jack cums down Mac’s throat with a long drawn out “Oooooooohhh!” and several uncontrolled thrusts of his hips that Mac takes easily and without complaint.

Mac doesn’t let him rest though. He immediately starts again, taking him all the way in and swallowing around him. Jack is a groaning, incoherent mess above him. Mac smiles around his mouthful as he looks up to see the total abandon on the face he loves so much, then starts bobbing his head again, slower this time.

He gently lifts Jack’s left leg from the floor, giving him a few seconds to realize what he’s doing so he can adjust his balance, then hooks the leg over his shoulder. He uses the shower to make sure the fingers of his right hand are completely wet before sliding up to tease at Jack’s entrance. Jack gasps at the clear intention and places both his hands on the wall to steady himself as Mac slides the first finger in. His finger matches the slow pace of his mouth, sliding and stretching before gently adding the second finger. 

“Oh fuck, Mac. That’s amazing.”

It’s the first coherent thing Jack’s said since he started and he rewards him by finding his prostate and rubbing circles on it, which reverts Jack to babbling and moaning. By the time Mac adds the third finger, Jack is very close. Mac drops his other hand to his own cock and starts to work himself fast and hard. When he’s as close as Jack is, he increases the speed of his mouth and the fingers inside Jack.

As he feels Jack beginning to shutter, he maintains the speed of both his hands, but pulls his mouth off just in time for Jack to cum all over his face. He looks up to see Jack’s eyes on him with a look of pure adoration, and it’s enough to send him over the edge, cumming all over his hand as Jack watches.

“God damn, hoss. Look at you. Fuck if you don’t make the most amazing sight I’ve even seen.”

Mac smiles up at him blissfully and leans his head back under the spray, feeling Jack’s cum slide from his face and down his body. Mac keeps slowly working his fingers inside Jack.

“The view from here is pretty awesome, too.” He places a messy, suckling kiss on the tip of Jack’s cock, making the older man drop his head into the wall behind him with another groan.

“Shit, you’re gonna be the death of me.” Mac lets Jack’s leg slide to the crook of his elbow as he slowly stands. Jack makes a sound that’s part moan, part whimper as Mac’s fingers finally slide out of him.

Mac kisses him passionately, before dipping low enough to hook Jack’s other knee on his left arm and then lift Jack from the floor. Jack gasps as he’s pushed more fully into the wall, being held up by Mac -seemingly without effort. Jack’s already blown eyes somehow grow darker with want.

“Oh, darlin’. That is  _ so _ hot.”

Mac grins at him. “Gonna get hotter.” He claims his mouth in a filthy kiss, grinding their hips together again.

“Oh, please tell me you’re gonna fuck me like this.”

Mac’s chuckle comes out husky and primal. “That’s the plan.” He bites  _ mostly _ gently at Jack’s collarbone. “You’re going to have to guide me in though so I don’t drop you.”

“Mmm, my pleasure.”

Jack pulls a hand from the wall, having complete faith in Mac’s ability not to drop him and reaches under himself. He strokes Mac several times before moving the head to where they both want it. Mac slides forward just enough to breach his entrance with a moan.

“Ooohh, shit. You tighten up so  _ fast _ now. You okay?”

“Hell yeah, man. Keep goin’. Oooo, yeah.” His eyes slip shut and his head thuds against the wall again as Mac presses in deeper, stilling when he bottoms out. Mac trails kisses up Jack’s neck and locks their lips together as he starts moving his hips. Slowly at first, but before long he’s forced to relinquish the kiss as he snaps his hips harder and faster.

Jack’s hands scramble at Mac’s shoulders, tangle in his hair and claw at the wall behind him as Mac slams into his prostate over and over.

“Oh, fuck. Oh, Mac. God yes! So close, darlin’. So close!  _ Yeah _ !” Jack cums untouched all over his abs and Mac slams into him a few more times before his own orgasm has his hips faltering as he spills into Jack. A few deep breaths and they both relax into a sweet, gentle kiss. Mac slips out of Jack and he allows Jack’s legs to drop back under him to take his weight again.

After a long minute, Jack hums as he pulls back. “Mmm, that...was awesome, darlin’.”

Mac smiles at him. “Glad you liked it. I’ll have to remember that one for another time.”

Jack chuckles. “Absolutely. And I’m also gonna have to try that on you.”

“Mmm...sounds like fun.”

After another lingering kiss, Jack pulls back again. “We should head into the bedroom. The water’s finally going cold.”

Mac laughs softly. “ _ Never _ tell Matty that we’re the ones that somehow used all the Phoenix’s hot water.”

Jack laughs with him. “Oh hell no! I like my head where it is, thank you very much.”

Mac reaches over and turns the water off. Taking Jack’s hand he leads him out to the other room, each grabbing a towel and quickly drying off on the way, dropping the towels by the bed as they reach it.

Jack spins Mac in place and pushes him onto the bed, crawling after him as Mac shimmies backwards, laying his head on the pillows. He covers Mac’s body with his own, tangling both hands in the soft blond hair and capturing his lips in a slow, sweet kiss.

Mac wraps his arms tightly around Jack’s back, loving the feel of the muscles and his weight on top of him. Shifting his legs to the outside, he wraps those around Jack as well to press their hips together. The kiss continues unhurried, patient. They have all the time in the world...literally. 

Jack gently releases Mac’s lips and makes his way down his neck, leaving lingering kisses in his wake. He gently sucks the hollow between his collarbones before continuing down, lightly rubbing the stubble of his chin across the sensitive skin of his nipple. Mac’s whole body shivers at the tantalizing sensation. He can feel the breath of Jack’s silent laugh ghost over his skin just before he draws the nipple into his mouth, flicking his tongue over it.

The other nipple gets the same slow attention before Jack proceeds lower still, raining tender kisses back and forth over the plain of his abs, hands caressing his sides, his legs, sliding up to lazily twist his nipples back and forth between his fingers.

Damn, Mac loves it when Jack does this: takes his time, adoring each part of Mac he touches. Worshiping his skin like there’s nothing in the world he’d rather be doing. It makes his whole body feel electrified, slowly building higher and higher. He could probably cum just from this -not that Jack will let him. He likes to tease so that the eventual orgasm is blindingly intense.

Mac smiles in anticipation, looking down his own body to watch as Jack slides even lower, kissing his way down his hips, pausing to suck a bruise into his inner thigh, before licking a long stripe up his other thigh and pulling a testicle into his mouth. Mac hadn’t been expecting that and he gasps, his back arching as his eyes slipping shut before he releases the breath as a low groan that’s almost a sigh.

Mac hears the cap of the lube pop open as Jack’s mouth leaves him and he briefly wonders when Jack even grabbed it. But all such logical thoughts evaporate as Jack slides a finger into him. Mac feels his eyes cross beneath the still shuttered lids, and he knows Jack is looking at him. It’s one of the things he’s learned about Jack since they got together. Jack likes to watch.

Sure enough, Jack’s husky voice comes from a distance above him as a second finger joins the first, causing his back to arch again. “Fuckin’ hell, darlin’. You are glorious.” Jack’s fingers deliberately find Mac’s prostate and Mac whines in pleasure as his head turns to the side, pressing deeper into the pillow. “Oh, yeah. You like that, huh? You want more?”

Mac doesn’t answer fast enough and Jack slides his fingers away. Mac’s head turns back forward at the loss and his eyes snap open to see Jack kneeling between his legs, looking down at him with a proud smirk on his face. He’s still sliding his fingers in and out of Mac, but deliberately avoiding that magic spot, waiting for Mac to ask for it...or beg.

Naturally, Mac can’t help but give Jack what he wants. “More. Please, Jack. More. Oh, god more.”

Jack smiles broadly and obliges, crushing his fingers into Mac’s prostate again, grinding into it for several seconds before pulling back, repeating several more times while Mac positively writhes beneath him.

“Oh hell yeah, Mac. You got it. Let go for me. Let me watch you cum.”

Mac can’t quite get there. Pressure and pleasure building, but not quite enough. “More, please!”

Mac barely registers the shift on the bed, but suddenly Jack tweeks one of his nipples and the dam breaks. Mac’s screaming moan rents the air and he arches, toes curling, fists tightly clenching the sheets as he cums hard. Jack’s fingers grind into his prostate through the whole thing, making it last an age, white spots appear on the inside of his eyelids. As the shuddering and pleasure start to fade, Mac hears Jack let go above him and more cum falling onto him.

“Ooohhh, fuck, yeah. I love watching you fall apart, man. It’s the most phenomenal thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Mac chuckles. “Yeah, yeah, come here.” He grabs Jack’s wrist and pulls him down on top of him. “Stop talking and fuck me already.”

“Mmm, yes sir.” He covers Macs mouth with his own and reaches down to follow orders. They both groan as he makes entry, slowly sliding deeper. “God I love this virus. I could do this all day. How the hell do we ever stop?”

Mac smiles. “No idea. Move already!”

“So demanding.” He wastes no time though and starts moving, hard and fast, the way they both like it.

Three orgasms later, he finally slides out of Mac and rolls onto his back.

Mac rolls onto his side, laying a hand on Jack’s chest. “Getting tired, old man?”

Jack laughs. “No.” A loud rumbling, growl from Jack’s stomach answer’s all questions.

They both laugh. “Guess that’s one reason to stop for now. Let’s clean up and get something to eat.”

“Good plan.”

\-----------------------------------------------------


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

\---------------------------------------------

Lunch finished, dishes cleaned, Mac and Jack sit in a slightly awkward silence on the couch in Jack’s Phoenix apartment..

“Alright darlin’. Whatever’s been bothering you the past couple weeks? Out with it.”

Mac laughs softly, shaking his head. “I really should know by now that you’d notice, huh?”

“Yup, you should. Come on. Whatever it is, we’ll talk it through.”

Jack waits patiently while Mac takes a few steadying breaths.

“I’m not sure how to start. It’s kind of stupid.”

“It’s _not_ stupid, Mac.”

“You don’t even know what it is.”

“If it’s botherrein’ you, it ain’t stupid. You have a right to feel how you feel.”

“What I mean is that it’s stupid that it’s bothering me.”

“Same answer, hoss. Come on. Spit it out. You’ll feel better once you talk about it and you know it.”

“I’m...scared...and jealous.”

Jack nods slowly. “Okay, how about we unpack the jealousy first. Who are you jealous of and for what?”

“It’s all the same reason. I’m jealous and scared because…” Mac huffs in frustration. “Jack, you may have a _daughter_ out there.”

Jack nods again, not surprised. “I had a feeling it was something to do with that.”

“I’m not sure why it’s making me jealous. It’s not like you _asked_ to be drugged and raped by a psychopath.”

Jack chuckles. “No. Certainly not. And having a child with said psychopath is not exactly at the top of my wish list either.”

“Still. If Dernova is telling the truth? That baby would be half yours, no matter who her mother is. That’s...yeah.”

Jack smiles softly. “Yeah. Gotta admit, I’m a little shocked at how much I hope it’s true. I mean, I’m tryin’ not to hope and I know it sounds crazy. I always wanted kids when I was younger. It was just never the right time. I was always runnin’ off to save the world.” He laughs softly at that. “And then it just started becoming too late, you know? Shit, if not for this virus, I’d be 63 years old before she even graduated high school. The chances of living long enough to see her married or having kids of her own would not be awesome...but now? It’s wide open, man.”

“Hate to break it to you, but you’d still be 63 years old when she graduates high school. You’ll just look 30.” He chuckles at the ‘really?’ look on Jack’s face. “I know what you mean though. And I’m happy for you and that you have this chance, Jack. I am. But I’ve never really thought about that for myself. Except in the abstract. My relationship with my dad has always left me a little scared of having kids myself. So, why would I be jealous?”

“First of all, you are _nothing_ like your old man. So, stop it. You’re going to make a wonderful father, darlin’. Whether that’s now, or years from now. As to _why_ you’re jealous...I know how I’d feel if our places were reversed. Even if you didn’t have a choice about it, if you were having a kid with someone else? I know I’d be jealous as hell."

Mac pulls in a deep breath, nodding. Jack’s probably right. “Yeah.” He sighs softly, shaking his head, another worry still prickling his mind. “Jack, what are we going to do?”

“About what, man?”

“Let’s assume it’s _all_ true: that she has or is about to deliver a daughter and she’s yours. Let’s also assume everything goes off without a hitch when we go after her. She and her people are arrested, none of us get hurt and we find the baby perfectly healthy and safe. What then?”

“Then Dernova and her cronies go to jail and the baby is safe and can grow up happy and away from her crazy mother.”

“Where? I assume you’d want to raise her, yeah? How are you going to do that while still working here? Or are you planning to quit in order to raise her? Then, do I stay working here without you or do I quit, too? Are either of us _ready_ for retirement?”

It’s Jack’s turn for a deep breath. “Well, I’ve been thinking about all that, too. Hell, I been thinkin’ about at least part of that since before I was even infected.” With a sigh, he continues. “Comin’ back from hunting Kovacs, I had to at least _start_ considering retirement. I think that’s part of why I reacted the way I did when you brought it up. And you’re right, it’s a terrifying prospect. Change is always scary, Mac.

“Once I found out I might be a dad soon, I started thinking about it a lot more. We’ve got quite a few options, Mac. You’re right in thinking I’d want to raise her. The idea of giving her up if she really is mine…” Jack sighs, closing his eyes. “I can’t do that, Mac. I...I can’t. It would make me no better than your dad.”  
  
“I wouldn’t want you to.” Mac says gently, taking Jack’s hand. “I know how much being a father would mean to you, even under these circumstances. But I also know leaving her with someone while you went out to get shot at, maybe shot, would tear you apart, too.”

“You’re not wrong.”

“And I know how much it bothered you to watch me go on missions without you. No matter how much you trust Desi, it’s not the same. So, we’d both have to leave.”

“You haven’t been in it as long as I have and if you’re not ready to retire yet and want to keep goin’ with Desi, I will absolutely support that. It won’t be easy, but I’ll deal.”

“I can’t do that. We talked about this part when you got back. I have no interest in doing this without you. So if you’re out, and it sounds like you are, then I’m out too.” Mac says with a shrug. “And don’t forget, _if_ we retire at this point, it wouldn’t have to be permanent for us like it is for most people. Eighteen years from now, even _fifty_ years from now, whatever, we can sign back up if we want to. There will always be bad guys that need stopping.”

“That’s still kind of crazy to think about. Eternity is not an abstract concept any more.” He sighs, playing with Mac’s fingers. “And I’m only out now if there actually _is_ a baby _and_ it’s mine. If psycho-lady made the whole thing up, then this whole conversation is moot anyway. And if she only made up the part about me being the father, then we’ll find a lovely family to adopt her. It may sound selfish, but I don’t fancy raising Dervona’s baby after everything she’s done to us unless I got a damn good reason to. The little tyke having my blood would be one hell of a good reason.”

“Sounds fair to me. I suppose this would be a phenomenal excuse to get the ranch up and running. That would be a great place to raise a child.”

“My thoughts exactly. So...this is the decision then? You sure you’re okay with it?”

Mac buries his darkest concern. He _won’t_ treat her any different if she looks too much like Dernova. He won’t allow that to happen. Jack is right, he’s nothing like his dad. He feels himself relaxing as the surety of this thought settles in his mind. He smiles and nods to Jack, who returns his smile only twice as big.

\--------------------------------------------------------

It doesn’t even occur to him until hours later, when they're laying in bed, Jack sound asleep beside him: neither of them had even questioned whether or not he’d be part of Jack and the baby’s family -that he’d be there to help raise her if she really is Jack’s daughter. It was just a given, for both of them. The warmth that spreads through him when he realizes it is dizzying. Jack really is home to him. Whatever happens, they’ll figure it out together and they’ll be fine. He cuddles more securely up to Jack’s side and falls asleep without another worry.

\----------------------------------------------------------

Four days later, Matty calls a meeting. The whole team is there: Desi, Riley, Leanna, Bozer, James, Mac and Jack.

“We have a location on Dernova.” Matty says without preamble. 

“Then we need to call my sister.” Mac says. “She wanted to be part of this, and I promised her I’d keep her informed.” Mac freezes as he realizes what he said.

Stunned silence greets his statement. Every head bouncing back and forth between Mac and his father waiting for more -except Jack. Who just looks at Mac with a look that just says ‘Oooo, you’re in trouble!’

Mac grimaces at his father. “Sorry.”

“I didn’t even know you knew.”

“She told me after they got back from the Kovacs mission. She asked me not to say anything.”

“She’s gonna kill you, man.” Jack says with a mischievous smirk and a snicker.

Mac shoots him a look of annoyance and amusement. “Shut up.” Jack just chuckles again.

“Ok, wait.” Riley jumps in. “Who are we talking about? You have a sister, Mac? Since when?”

Mac raises his eyebrows at James in silent question, James just nods his head yes. So Mac sighs and answers, “I guess the cat’s out of the bag now anyway. It’s Sam.”

“Sam?” Says Bozer. “You mean Samantha Cage?! She’s your sister?!”

“Half sister, technically.” Mac says. “Dad can correct me if I’ve got it wrong but...Sam told me that Dad went on vacation with his parents to Australia when he was 16, and apparently hooked up with a local girl. Supposedly, he never knew about Sam until she turned 18 and went looking for him. Her mother never even told Dad she was pregnant. Her parents wouldn’t let her.”

“It was one hell of a surprise when I found out, too.”

“How did she even find you?” Jack asks. “Mac tried everything he could think of and got nothing even with the resources he had here.”

It’s James’ turn to grimace. “Well, using Phoenix resources is part of the _reason_ he couldn’t find me since I control those. However, once I found out Sam was looking for me, _loudly_ , I went to her. It was safer for her than letting her draw attention to herself by continuing to search. It was better for her if no one knew who she was. Dernova isn’t the only one who would have tried to use her against me. Angus has my last name. There was nothing I could do to keep people from knowing about him.”

“I already called Sam, Mac.” Matty says. “She’ll be here tomorrow.”

“Thank you...and sorry for interrupting.”

“It’s fine. Anyway, thanks to Mac narrowing the location down to just a handful of houses, Riley was able to find a connection between Dernova and one of them.” She turns and activates the screen. “This house belongs to the brother of one of her associates, Hedeon Morozov.” Another click of the remote and a man’s face appears on the screen.

Mac’s gasp seems loud in the quiet room and everyone quickly turns to look at him. Mac’s voice is barely a whisper as he asks, “He’s alive?”

Matty looks concerned. “Yes, he is. I take it he was there during your captivity?”

“He’s the one who dislocated my hip.” The faces around him switch from concern to anger and he continues. “I thought he was killed during my rescue. If he’s still alive and he’s at that house, we need to be careful of him.”

“I’ll kill him.” Jack growls through clenched teeth.

“And I’d actually love that, Jack. But he could very well be a match for you, even now. He’s big and he’s strong and if he’s with her, he’d be well trained. Plus, I’m pretty sure he’s infected with the virus. So, your advantage there would be gone.”

“I’ve gone up against plenty of well trained people on a level playing field, Mac. And I’m still here.”

“I know that, Jack. But you need to know what you’re up against.” He turns to look at Desi and Leanna. “If anyone else comes across him, _don't_ try to go hand to hand. Kill him from a distance if possible, and go for a headshot. Anything less than that and there’s too much of a chance he’d survive and get back up to keep fighting. It may be how he survived the raid when I was rescued. If he didn’t run, they would have shot him center mass, and if they missed his heart, the virus could have kept him alive and mobile enough to get to medical help.”

“Good to know.” Matty says. “Now, the house in question is in a difficult location. It’s on a winding road, on a hill. It’s going to be extremely hard to get to without being seen. So we’ll go at it from two different directions, above and below. We’ll be more likely to be seen coming _up_ the hill, so she’d be most likely to try to escape by going up and over the other side. So, Jack will lead the team coming down to intercept her.”

“Sweet.” Jack says with a grin.

“Just remember, babe. We’d like her alive.”

“I still don’t get why.”

“Because her other victims deserve justice, too. Not just us. Even if she ends up in a black site, their families deserve to know that she’s been recaptured and brought to trial. They deserve to see her pay for the things she did.”

“Yeah, alright. I see your point. I’ll try...but no promises.”

Matty continues the meeting. “Mac, unfortunately as you know, you can’t be there. We’re going to use the tech conference you suggested as cover. That way, in case she checks up on why you went back to Tirana so soon, her people can report to her that you’re _truly_ at the conference. You’ll be on comms the whole time so you’ll know what’s going on and you’ll be able to let the teams know if she starts moving and which way.”

Mac nods glumly.

“So, everybody will fly into Tirana, Albania, drop off Mac and Riley, who will check into their rooms at the hotel next door to the conference venue. Riley will run tech from the room and keep an eye on the video feed, while Mac makes himself seen at the conference. Everyone else will continue to Margariti Regional Airfield. It’s a small airstrip about a 25 minute drive south of our target which is at the north end of Plataria, Greece.

“Jack, you will lead the upper team with Sam as your second. Desi, the lower team with Leanna as second. I want all of you to spend the next week going over the terrain and finding the best routes for your teams. Obviously, coordinate with each other. Jack will have the lead on this op. So, he has the final say on tactics and he and I will make any decisions that need to be made on the day. I know we can’t account for every variable, but we probably won’t get a second shot at this, so I want it planned as thoroughly as absolutely possible. We’ve put in a lot of time and money just flying Mac back and forth to Europe, and having Jack sidelined. _I. Want. Her. Stopped_. We’ll have a formal briefing with the full teams right before you all leave to tell them the plan you’ve come up with. Remember, aside from Sam, no one else on our teams will know about the virus, so we’ll need something believable to tell them about Morozov.”

When no one says anything else, Matty nods to Riley who takes over. “I have tablets for you guys that already have the most recent satellite images of the area uploaded. The satellite passes over it about every 18 hours, and I’ll update you on any major changes. We’ll have a live satellite feed for the op itself. I haven’t gotten the house blueprints yet, that’s my next task. I’ll get them to you as soon as I have them.” She passes out the tablets.

“Alright people, get to work. I want this op air tight.” James says as he heads for the door. “This bitch has been free too long already.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've started the next part of this series and I hope to get it finished before my vacation is over, fingers crossed! The next part is probably going to be the end of the series! I can't believe it! Then again, with our boys being ageless, I can always add to it down the road sometime, even do a '20 years later' type of thing. But I'll at least take a break from it for a while. I'm also 3 chapters into another story and have several other ideas bouncing around in my head including a sequel to my story 'Houdini'.
> 
> What did you think of this story? Let me know in the comments, they keep me going!


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